CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox called on Michael Kopech in a pivotal part of Thursday’s Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa.
The Sox led by three, but the New York Yankees had runners on first and second with no outs in the sixth inning.
Kopech got slugger Giancarlo Stanton to ground out to shortstop Tim Anderson, with the runners moving up a base. The right-hander then struck out Luke Voit and Rougned Odor to escape trouble without giving up a run.
A fired-up Kopech slapped his glove twice in excitement.
He allowed one hit, walked one and struck out two in 1 1/3 innings in the outing — and impressed Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who tweeted, “Man, Kopech is nasty.” Mahomes and Kopech pitched against each other when they were younger.
After a hiccup at the end of last month, allowing five runs in one inning against Cleveland, Kopech has returned to that “nasty” form he has displayed for most of this season.
He has allowed one run on three hits with seven strikeouts in six innings during five August relief appearances.
That includes two scoreless innings in Monday’s 5-2 victory against the Oakland Athletics at Guaranteed Rate Field. Kopech walked one and struck out three.
“It was getting back to trusting myself,” Kopech said Monday. “You have a rough one like that (July 31 game) and it’s easy to go back to the drawing board and figure out what you’re not doing well and what you are doing well. It can really be a downward spiral if you go deep in that rabbit hole.
“But just going back and getting confident in what I’ve been doing all year and throwing every pitch with conviction, little stuff like that helped me get back on track.”
Kopech is 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA in 29 outings, including three starts. He has 13 holds, 67 strikeouts and 20 walks in 48 1/3 innings.
He’s one of the first pitchers the Sox turn to in high-leverage situations such as the Field of Dreams game.
“I’m trying to embrace the new role I’m put in,” said Kopech, who is working primarily out of the bullpen this season with a return to starting the future plan. “But since making that transition, I guess, it’s been a lot of fun.
“It’s kind of a learning curve there for a second. But I’m starting to feel competition as soon as I touch the ball, no matter what the situation is. As long as we can keep that going throughout the rest of the season, I think I’ll be in a good spot.”
Craig Kimbrel and Liam Hendriks followed Kopech in Monday’s game. The three combined for nine strikeouts in four scoreless innings.
“It can look different almost every night and still be comfortable with what we are putting out there,” Kopech said of the bullpen. “It’s the kind of pitching staff we have. But when everything is going good, everything is going great.
“We’ve got those two guys at the back end you can flip a coin and be comfortable they are going to dominate. I don’t think any rough stretches for any of us dictate what kind of a team this is. Everybody knows what we are capable of offensively and defensively. Every time we come to the field, we are ready to win and compete.”
Kopech learns from the two veteran closers, even when an appearance doesn’t go their way.
“And there are other examples in the clubhouse of guys who have had rough ones,” Kopech said. “We don’t have anybody carrying a bad game into the next game. That shows the kind of leadership they have.”
The Sox will continue to monitor Kopech’s usage. He missed all of 2019 recovering from Tommy John surgery and opted out of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season for personal reasons.
“You have to take the day he goes out there, if it’s one inning and he gets quick outs, he’s right there now where he can be available the next day,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said Tuesday. “When he has two innings (like Monday), double the workload, then there’s no way he’s going to pitch (Tuesday). And most probably it would be wise to hold him out and give him two days’ rest.
“He had a good outing and if he feels good, maybe, but two innings to me is two days. Back-to-back (appearances) is something he can do already. In the end, though, it’s still his first opportunity to be in that bullpen, and you want to err on the side of caution for a lot of reasons.”
Yasmani Grandal transferred to Triple-A
Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal took the next step in his rehab assignment, moving from Double-A Birmingham to Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday.
Grandal slashed .364/.385/.364 with two RBIs in four games with the Barons. He went on the injured list July 6 with a torn tendon in his left knee.
His checklist during the rehab assignment is slightly different than the ones outfielders Luis Robert and Eloy Jiménez went through.
“Because of the catching position and all the different things you have to do as a catcher, plus the hitting, it’s a different evaluation,” La Russa said. “To be going to Triple-A, that’s a very healthy sign for us.”
